Day 2.3: Health Is A Journey - Why take It?

Ok.  I'm sure myfitnesspal is telling you that I haven't logged in for at least 5 days...I definitely need some encouragement, girls! Where's my encouragement?!

I love this quote.  It makes me feel inspired to achieve.  You may be asking why being fit is important.  Why does it matter?  Do I really need to?  Is the time I'm spending planning meals, cleaning up recipes, and exercising the best way to spend my time?  Isn't the slight increase in food budget to eat healthier better used elsewhere?

Here's my answer:

• We have been given one life.  One time to do things right.  We have been taught what we need to know to make the best of our life on Earth, and the principles that will bring us joy and make us happy.  Taking care of our bodies is definitely included in these teachings.

• The Word of Wisdom is not just about what not to eat.  It is also about what to eat.  Moderation in all things is the principle of health and a dietary guideline.  It is also a guideline for how much we are at rest and how much we are moving.  You can not overeat and be sedentary and be following the WoW.

• Our bodies are temples.  We know what not to do to them to deface them or injure them.  Leading an unhealthy lifestyle is a way that we can harm our bodies and leave them susceptible to disease and injury.

• We are taught to give all we have in service to our families and others around us.  When we are healthy and strong we are able to give and serve more.  We will be better wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and friends.  We cannot give unless our lamps are full of oil, and being healthy is part of the oil we need.

Being fit is not an end; it is a vehicle to live a better more full life.  Being fit is not so we can look hot in our LBDs or swimsuits.  It's not about looking awesome to make others jealous.  Being fit is a quality of life issue.  My sister sent me this link to an article that goes right along with this topic.  Read this:  http://wellfesto.com/2013/11/19/10-things-i-want-my-daughter-to-know-about-working-out/

While most of us are not in the board room or on the golf course, we are living a more complicated and more challenging job: that of being a mother.  I know that being healthy makes us better moms.  Exercise helps us have more stamina, more joy, more patience, more self-control, more inner satisfaction that we can then share with our husbands & children. Think radiating & infectious happiness.  Eating healthy give us better fuel for this most difficult and most rewarding of all jobs.  You will get more accomplished in every aspect of your job as a mother & wife if you are strong and healthy.

Those of us whose kids are closer to (or in) teenage-hood realize that so quickly they are going to outstrip us in strength, height, weight, and endurance.  If you have boys, this is even more dauntingly apparent.  Do you want to do activities with your growing children, or do you want to be the mom that stays home and hears about the adventure later?  I agree wholeheartedly with the author of the article that the world is better when seen from the outdoors.  I also firmly believe that relationships are built and deepened when we do physically active things together (wholesome recreational activities.  it's in the program). It strips away barriers and makes us more receptive and happy.  (Zumba, am I right?!)  Winter is more enjoyable if you take time to get out in it.  Every season is.

Exercise helps us feel more emotionally even-keeled.  You may not know this about me, but I'm a highly emotional person.  (Don't say you knew it all along. Rude.)  Exercise helps us stay in better control of our emotional highs and lows, and aids during the week before aunt flo visits.  (yeah, yeah, I'm sure it doesn't happen to you.)  I keep saying that your family will thank you for sticking to your exercise routine.  I am dead serious.

I am not getting any younger.  None of us is.  My 40s are rapidly approaching, as my favorite person continually reminds me.  Many of the aches and pains and problems of age can be mitigated by being strong, having muscle mass & tone, and having cardiovascular fitness.  For us women, weight bearing exercise now can significantly increase our quality of life in our 50s and on.  With muscle mass your body is more able to control and stabilize itself, and injuries to places like knees and hips can be avoided; if not avoided, then recovery will be significantly easier.  It's called being durable.

I am not a languisher.  I once said, with a sigh, that no one would ever call me "willowy".  Being strong is a huge part of my identity and I find joy and fulfillment in finding out how hard I can push myself, and being out in God's beautiful world.  I also feel more beautiful and glowing when I exercise and am strong.  I want my daughters to find that same joy in their lives, and this starts by example.  Making exercise a joy will teach them to also enjoy it.  I want you all to find out how far, how great, how powerful, how in control, and how happy you can be.  It's a journey, and I know I still have far, far to go, but I'm enjoying it.  Spiritual and Physical well being go hand in hand, inseparable from each other.

You will never spend a better hour or two each day than taking that time to spiritually and physically improve yourself.  Focus on your own growth.  Meet your own needs.  Love your unique talents and strengths and features.  You will  have more to give to everyone you love.

I found this great slideshow today, 20 great quotes about just this topic.  Give them a read.  Then read them again when you're feeling like you just can't do it.  Like I have felt for two days. I really needed this:   http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/smartest-things-ever-said-about-fitness

So, today

DO IT FOR THE LOVE, LADIES!!